Life Values and Subjective Well-being among Indian University Students: Scrutinizing the Omnipresent North-South Divide

Abstract

The objective of this study is to assess the level of subjective well-being among Indian students from North and South and explore the links between their life values and subjective well-being. The current attempt investigated the contrasting effects in a student sample of 168 North-Indian and 187 South-Indian university students. Standardized assessment tools namely, the Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985); The Happiness Measure (Fordyce, 1988); and Valued Living Questionnaire (Wilson, Sandoz, Kitchens, & Roberts, 2010) were used for data collection in the present context. The results suggest that levels of life satisfaction differ across the samples and, peculiarly, North Indian students experience happiness more intensively as compared to their Southern counterparts. The correlations between life values and well-being point out the North-South divide in the manifestation of life values and well-being. In the end, the probable reasoning behind this stark contrast was provided to justify the omnipresent differences.